Thursday, January 2, 2014

A Holiday Hiatus

If you're still faithfully checking this little blog of mine after I've been my holiday hiatus, thank you. You're the best, you really are. Thanks for giving me the space and down time I needed "to rest" without writing me off.

Is anyone else out there a little bummed that it's all said and done? Anyone else out there battling a holiday hangover? No? Me neither. I was just asking, you know, for a friend of a friend. Duh.

How do the holidays come and go so quickly? How does a month full of celebrations only seem like a solid two weeks? If there was ever a time when I wish the clock would just slow its roll a tiny bit, it'd be the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. And also maybe the days when there's no snow and it's a lovely 75-80 degrees. Those days could stand to take their sweet time as well.

With it all said and done, I pray that you had a wonderfully, cozy Christmas filled with good friends and good food, family, parties, and quiet moments at home next to the tree and the fire. I know we did and I'm so thankful for each moment.

Tomorrow I'll share a few highlights from our celebrations, but today I bring you my favorite holiday moment of 2013. On Christmas Eve, Tim and I had the pleasure of spending the evening with both of our parents and my brother. The night began with church together and ended with appetizers, cocktails and a fun holiday game in our home. The conversation was way better than the food, sorry all for not bringing my appetizer A-game. Next time, I promise. But as they said a few times within our Christmas Eve service, that night "was light, and He called it good." It was good indeed.

What part of the night that I'll always cherish, was sitting 7 people deep in a church row together, all worshiping our Lord on the Eve of His birth. And it was good. So very good. I got a little teary a few times it felt that good. Here was little ole me, sitting smack dab between my two, loving, amazing families. Some people are not fortunate enough to have even one loving family, and the Hubs and I, well, we have two. We're so blessed in that realm. And in Heartland Church tradition, the entire congregation stood together as we sang the final song of the night Silent Night. And in keeping with the tradition, they encourage everyone who came with someone else to spend those few, precious moments in hugs, holding hands, swaying to the music together, or however your family shows love. They also encourage you not to touch or do anything weird with the person next to you if you didn't come with them, so we obliged as well.

So there we stood, 7 people deep, with arms wrapped around our people next to us and worshipping our Lord. Two families meshing together in the middle. And, I'm not kidding you, It. Was. Good. And I will hold that moment in my heart forever. I hope it's not the last time we get to do spend our Christmas Eve like that, wherever we're all together. At my church or somewhere else. Maybe it'll start a tradition elsewhere, but in those moments, for those three versus, you simply CANNOT not feel His love for us and ours for one another. He. Is. Light. And. He. Is. Good. And all of the angels said Amen.

Thanks to both of our families for choosing to spend your night with us. It was one for the books!

About Me

I was blessed enough to live near the beach in Charleston, SC for 15 years after surviving 18 years of life in the frozen tundra that is Illinois Winters. However, recently the Midwest has called this Southern by choice girl back to be the wife of an amazing man in IL. I love my family, love my friends as though they were family, and love my God with all of my heart.